Come join the American Lighthouse Foundation and Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses on June 4, 2016, from 1 to 5 p.m., for a symposium at the Kittery Lions Club, 117 State Road (Route 1), in Kittery, Maine.
Proceeds will benefit the American Lighthouse Foundation and its local chapter, Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses. Refreshments will be available, and a raffle will include books and other lighthouse-related items. Admission is $15 per person, or $25 for two people.
Program:
Russ Lane, Sr., at Whitehead Island in August 2015.
1) Russ Lane, Jr., will present his video documentary “Looking for a Hero” that tells the story of the amazing rescue his father performed when he was a Coast Guard lighthouse keeper at Whitehead Island in Maine in 1958. Russ Lane’s actions on that day saved the lives of five young people.
Ida Lewis
2) Marian Gagnon of Goodnight Irene Productions will present her video documentary , “America’s Forgotten Heroine: Ida Lewis, Keeper of the Light.” The Emmy-nominated film brings to life the extraordinary story of Ida Zoradia Lewis, America’s most famous woman lighthouse keeper. Ida took over the duties at Lime Rock Lighthouse in Newport, R.I. at the age of 15 when her father suffered a stroke in the 1850s. She tended the light for more than 50 years and also single-handedly rescued at least 18 people.
Conimicut Light
3) Frederick Mikkelsen will give a presentation on his days (1958-60) as a Coast Guard lighthouse keeper, entitled, “Checked Main Light – Lighthouse Life in the 1950s” Frederick will tell about his most terrifying experience in his years at Conimicut Lighthouse in Rhode Island—a 1960 hurricane—along with other true tales of lighthouse keeping.
4) Bob Trapani, Jr., executive director of the American Lighthouse Foundation, and Jeremy D’Entremont, founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, will speak about the mission of these organizations to preserve our lighthouses and their history, followed by questions and answers.
